Lead Consultant, Water

WSP • Portland, OR

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

WSP is seeking a Lead Consultant, Water for its Mountain Pacific District, based in Portland, OR. This role operates within WSP USA's Hybrid-Workplace Model. The position involves serving as a technical leader for drinking water clients across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, focusing on projects related to water treatment, storage, transmission, distribution, and capital improvements. The role requires addressing challenges such as aging infrastructure, regulatory compliance, system resilience, and future growth. The Lead Consultant will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, provide technical leadership, manage project delivery, support business development, and mentor junior professionals. Significant client-facing responsibilities include building relationships, leading technical discussions, and supporting business development. The role also involves developing the water practice, identifying opportunities, contributing to strategic planning, and supporting pursuit activities like proposals and interviews.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering, with a focus in Water Resources or closely related discipline.
• 7 to 10 years of relevant post education experience in water resources engineering.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
• Proficient knowledge of water resource engineering principles, practices, process.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary drinking water infrastructure projects.
• Proficient ability to coordinate with agency regulators and understand requirements.
• Well-developed ability to make technical computations and calculations involving the application of engineering principles, understanding plans and specifications and making factual comparisons to the appropriate regulations.
• Highly effective interpersonal and communication skills when interacting with others, expressing ideas effectively and professionally to an engineering and non-engineering audience.
• Demonstrated high-level of self-leadership with attention to detail, multi-tasking, and prioritization of responsibilities in a dynamic work environment.
• Works independently with minimal oversight and provides guidance and leadership to junior team or project members, with strict adherence to QA/QC.
• Highly proficient with technical writing, office automation, software, technology, math principles, predictive models, spreadsheets, and tools.
• Adept at coordinating technical matters with public and private groups.
• Well-developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills required to apply technical knowledge to reach conclusions.
• Demonstrated effectiveness at coordinating and assertively directing subcontractors and others to consistently complete tasks safely and efficiently.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Experience with drinking water treatment, storage facilities, pump stations, transmission mains, and distribution systems.

Nice To Haves

• Established relationships with municipal water clients in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
• Experience leading proposals, interviews, and business development efforts.
• Active involvement in AWWA or similar professional organizations.

Responsibilities

• Perform project management and professional engineering for complex drinking water infrastructure projects, including treatment, transmission, storage, pumping, distribution, and system planning.
• Serve as a technical lead and subject matter expert for drinking water projects, providing guidance and oversight throughout planning, design, permitting, and construction support.
• Oversee and monitor multidisciplinary project teams and specialty subconsultants to execute projects while managing scope, schedule, budget, quality, and risk.
• Coordinate, review, and approve engineering reports, technical memoranda, plans, specifications, and design calculations, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations, codes, and standards.
• Collaborate with professionals from a variety of disciplines to develop future-ready water infrastructure solutions for clients.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with municipal, utility, and industrial water clients, serving as a trusted advisor and helping identify opportunities for continued partnership.
• Support business development efforts through client engagement, strategic account planning, proposal development, scope and fee development, and participation in project interviews.
• Mentor and develop engineers and project managers through technical guidance, career development support, and professional coaching.
• Stay current on emerging drinking water regulations, treatment technologies, resilience strategies, and industry best practices through active participation in professional organizations and industry events.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources, and conduct, and adhere to WSP's Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Retirement savings
• Paid sick leave
• Paid vacation (or other personal time)
• Paid parental leave
• Paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior